Local expert says you can't eliminate risk at public events

(NEWS CENTER) -- A local expert in Homeland Security said people may start asking in the coming days whether the Boston Marathon bombings were a failure of security. But he doesn't think so.

Chet Lunner is a former official with the U-S Department of Homeland Security who lives in Maine. He said there's only so much you can account for in a security plan, especially in a marathon, where people can come and go from the route. Law enforcement is constantly weighing the cost of increased security to freedom and to the economy. And it is impossible to prepare for every scenario.

Lunner said, "You have to look at DHS, the FBI and others as part of a risk mitigation program, not a risk elimination program. And anybody that complains that this was a failure doesn't understand that you can't protect everyone and everything from every possible threat."

Lunner also said Maine needs to take a close look at how prepared it is to respond to a major event. He says many small states feel immune to attack, but everyone should be trained for the worst.